Church of St Matthias the Apostle, Siewierz

For centuries Siewierz belonged to the bishops of Kraków, who also ruled here as dukes of Siewierz – and the Church of St Matthias the Apostle bears their mark at every turn. Above the portal hangs the coat of arms of Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk dated 1783, and the church is entered through the fairy-tale white Bishop's Gate from the time of Bishop Andrzej Załuski. It makes an easy stop on a walk between the market square and the castle ruins.

History: a medieval church in Baroque dress

According to the parish, the church is first mentioned in the first half of the 15th century; the Siewierz municipality links its origins to the founding of the town in the 13th century. At first only the chancel was built of stone, while the nave was wooden; a masonry nave replaced it before 1598. Under a papal bull of 1424, the right of patronage belonged to the Norbertine nuns of Czarnowąsy. In 1647–1657 Bishop Piotr Gembicki partly remodelled the church.

Its present Baroque-Neoclassical look is the work of Bishop Kajetan Sołtyk. In 1782–1784 the church was extended by 5 metres to the west and given a new single-tower facade, a porch, a treasury and a chapel on the south side. It was only formally consecrated on 9 September 1883 by Bishop Tomasz Kuliński of Kielce.

What to look for

• The panel above the portal – carved wood with Rococo ornament, Bishop Sołtyk's monogram and arms and the date 1783, above a Baroque stone portal.
• The Bishop's Gate – a triple-arched gateway with pilasters, statues of Saints Matthias, Andrew, Adalbert and Stanislaus, and a sundial with the Junosza coat of arms.
• A second gate to the south-east with an iron plaque bearing the Junosza arms, Bishop Andrzej Załuski's monogram and the date 1755.
• The chapels of Our Lady of the Rosary (north) and of the Crucified Christ (south), and the painting of St Matthias on the high altar.
• Statues of St John of Nepomuk (1758) and St Florian, moved from the market square to the churchyard in 1940.

Good to know

The iron doors in all three gates were forged by local Siewierz blacksmiths in 1949 to a design by an engineer named Gawlik from Kraków. The ceiling paintings date from 1959, and during the 1996–1997 interior restoration the pilasters received faux-marble finishes and gilding.

Tripto tip

The church is at ul. Kościuszki 12, east of the market square. According to the municipal website, Sunday Masses are at 8:00, 9:30, 11:30 and 17:00, and weekday Masses at 7:00 and 18:00 – the interior is easiest to see just before or after them. Allow 20–30 minutes for the church and gates. The Bishop's Gate photographs best from the pavement across the street, where it fits in the frame together with the church tower. Combine your visit with the ruins of the Kraków bishops' castle and the Romanesque Church of St John the Baptist in the cemetery, dated to around 1100.